Behind the Couch

1972 Dir. Sergio Martino When she loses her unborn baby in a car accident, a grieving woman becomes the target of a Satanic cult who may have been responsible for the death of her mother many years ago… Sergio Martino’s All the Colours of the Dark is a psychedelic trip of a giallo, filtered through the gothic aesthetics of Hammer Horror and the Satanic Panic-induced paranoia of Rosemary’s Baby . Reconceptualising the usual conventions of the giallo into a plot about a Satanic cult’s advances on a traumatised woman, it falls into a miniscule group of films critic Kim Newman dubs ‘giallo-fantastico’; gialli which boast overtly supernatural aspects as well as typical troupes such as sexual perversion, blackmail and murder. Adding to the delirious nature of the plot are abstract dream sequences and myriad moments which cunningly blur the line between reality and deranged fantasy. Jane (Edwige Fenech) has increasing panic attacks, hallucinations and nightmares which are woven into ...

1972 Dir. Sergio Martino Alcoholic writer Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, Bay of Blood ) and his long-suffering wife Irina (Anita Strindberg, Lizard in a Woman's Skin ) live an isolated, self-destructive existence in their crumbling villa. When Oliviero’s mistress is the first victim in a series of vicious murders, he becomes the prime suspect – and when his niece Floriana (Edwige Fenech, Strip Nude for Your Killer ) suddenly arrives for a visit, things become increasingly complicated as a series of double-crossings and shifting character dynamics add to the air of stifling paranoia. Irina finds comfort in Floriana’s arms – and bed – and the two decide to bump off Oliviero, Diabolique -style. Throw in a few lesbian sex scenes, an ominous and seemingly ubiquitous black cat, lush gothic trimmings, several vicious murders, and you have a fantastically moody giallo that rates right up there with the best of ‘em. Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key – the absurdly extr...

1971 Dir. Sergio Martino The arrival in Vienna of international diplomat Neil Wardh and his wife Julie, coincides with a spate of vicious murders. In her husband’s increasing absence, Julie finds herself the (mainly) unwilling recipient of attention from her sadomasochistic ex, Jean and her latest suitor, George. As the killer continues to wreck havoc, and Julie's affair with George becomes more torrid, it becomes apparent that the victims are all connected to her and she begins to suspect each of the three men in her life of being the sadistic maniac… Can she work out who it is before it’s too late? During the early seventies, just after Dario Argento’s dazzling  The Bird with the Crystal Plumage sparked a trailblazing trend, director Sergio Martino made several giallo films back to back which would come to represent several of the genre’s most evocative and archetypal entries. Giallo (plural: gialli) is Italian for ‘yellow’ and the name originates from the trademark yell...

1975 Dir. Andrea Bianchi When a fashion model dies during surgery to perform an abortion, a slew of violent murders ensue, starting with that of the doctor who tried to cover up her death. The killer’s victims are all connected to a fashion modelling agency where the dead woman worked. As the body count rises, a couple of scantily clad amateur sleuths try to discover the killer’s identity before they too are struck off. “ I feel too hot to be a corpse, baby .” To describe Strip Nude For Your Killer as trashy and exploitative would really be a fantastically obvious understatement. Hey, with a title like that, one should really know what to expect. Of course, there are films with truly exploitative, titillating titles that can never hope to live up to the lurid promise their monikers suggest – Strip Nude is not one of those films. It does exactly what it says on the tin. The surprising thing is that it is actually pretty enjoyable, in a trashy, campy, exploitative and deliri...

1970 Dir. Mario Bava Three couples are invited to spend the weekend at the secluded private island retreat of their friend, wealthy industrialist George Stark (Teodoro Corrà). One of the men, a research scientist, has perfected a secret formula for an industrial resin and the others are all keen to acquire the rights for it as it promises to be lucrative. Tempers flare as they vie to obtain the formula. Meanwhile their wives kick back and entertain themselves. The group soon realises that someone is prepared to kill to get the secret formula, and they find themselves trapped on the island with a murderer in their midst! Gosh – that’s a lot to take in. Truth be told though, as soon as you begin to watch 5 Dolls for an August Moon , it becomes apparent that none of the above plot summary really matters – all that stuff about a secret formula is just a rouse to get these volatile characters in one secluded location so they can all be bumped off, one by one nonetheless, in what amoun...